Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-11-21
A VALIANT FIGHT.
How Rochester, \. Y, Wrestled With
the Telephone and Won,

Rochester, \. Y, is the only city in the
United States which does not generally
use the Bell telephone.
on the 20th of November. 1886, about
seven hundred subscribers hung up their
phones, and they have been hung up
since.
1t is the most noteworthy fight with
corporation ever known.
The cause of it was the attempt of the
local Bell company (whose officers all liv
ed in another city, to exact a rate per
message from the subscribers, instead of
flat rate The people resisted it. the
courts sustained the position that the IL
cense was revokable at will, the Common
Council revoked it. The company ignor-
ed this action, and, without permission,
erected poles in the streets and strung adj
ditionaI wires; but the courts held that
this was unlawful.
According to the message rate, house
like H. H. Warner & Co., proprietors of
Warmers safe cure. who were among the
heaviest patrons. would have to pay
something like 81 900 year for the same
telephone service as before.
For city of 125, 900 people, Rochester
has made good many sensations. Sam
Patch and his deadly leap, the Fox sis
ters' spiritual rappings, Stewards 'Irre-
pressible conflict" speech, Susan B. An
thongs attempt to vote, the cOmetary dis
coveries of DR.. Swift, of Warner OBJ
servatory, have each made the city the
talk of the world she leads in the
manufacture of proprietary medicine,
and her immense nursery. shoe and cloth
ing interests puts her in the front rank
The origin of her greatest industries is
interesting About ten years ago one of
her foremost citizens was stricken down
in the very height Of successful business
career, with what his doctors said was an
incurable disease. They gave him up to
die. He then used what is now known as
Warmers safe cure, and since then has
developed as the worlds great champion
of the people against the assumed monop-
oily of physicians over the treatment of
disease.
His fight, too has been determined
one, and as successful as determined. To-
day he is the head of the largest proprie-
tary medicine business in the world, hav
ing branch houses and laboratories in
London, England; Toronto, Canada;
Melbourne, Victoria; Sydney, New South
Wales: Frankfort, Germany; Prague,
Austria; Rangoon, Burmah.
Many foreign governments will not
permit the manufacture and sale of pro-
prietary medicines of any name or nature
until their formula, value and harmless
ness are by them established, after the
most searching scientific inquiries. In
every case Warmers safe cure has passed
examination with the highest satisfaction
to the government chemists and analysts,
and the sOught-for permission has been
granted, which no other American has be-
fore secured.
This confirms the magnificent reputa-
ton given it by leading physicians, minis
tiers, senators, congressman, lawyers and
ladies of the world. Its secret of sue
cess" says the leading physician at Cliff
ton Springs. \. Y, sanitarium, lis the
simplicity of its compounds and the pro-
portions in which they are compounded"
How do the people get on?"
The universal verdict is: 1--WE don't
miss the phone, except to our profit"
There has been practically no break in
the united opposition begun last Novem-
Der.
The American is getting to be quite as
tenacious of his personal rights as
against conspiring monOpolies as is the
typical Englishman. and this Rochester
telephone episode is a noteworthy illus
tratiOn of the fact.